ABSTRACT
Human rights have revolutionized state sovereignty and collective security. The UN has embraced the norm of a “responsibility to protect” as part of a human security agenda. A 2004 UN report argued that the international community should act to halt or prevent mass killings when a government will not or cannot do so (United Nations 2004). States no longer have a sovereign right to pursue domestic order or national security without any restrictions. The international community is slowly building rules and institutions to punish individuals who violate the most fundamental human rights by committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
